Moeche Fritte

Name: Moeche Fritte
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Veneta
Ingredients: 12 pieces live soft-shell lagoon crabs (moeche); 2 pieces Eggs; 100 g fine white flour (type 00); 40 g fine white polenta flour; 750 ml sunflower oil; 5 g Fine sea salt; 1 piece Lemon

Crisp fried soft-shell crabs from the Venetian Lagoon, coated in beaten egg and fine flour. Called mołeche in Venetian dialect, they are eaten whole.

🇮🇹Italy· Veneto

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 10 min
Total: 30 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 410 kcal

Ingredients

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Servings

12 pieces live soft-shell lagoon crabs (moeche) — cleaned with hard apron removed
2 pieces Eggs — beaten with a pinch of fine salt
100 g fine white flour (type 00) — for dredging
40 g fine white polenta flour — fine cornflour for extra crunch
750 ml sunflower oil — for deep-frying
5 g Fine sea salt — to taste
1 piece Lemon — cut into wedges for serving

Equipment

•Deep heavy-bottomed frying pan or Dutch oven
•Shallow mixing bowl
•Slotted spoon or spider skimmer
•Kitchen paper
•Cooking thermometer

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 410 kcal
fat: 22 g
carbs: 28 g
fibre: 1 g
protein: 26 g
calories: 410 kcal

Instructions

1
Check the crabs are soft and rinse them very gently in cold water.
2
Pat the crabs dry carefully with kitchen paper.
3
Whisk the eggs with a small pinch of fine salt in a wide shallow dish.
4
Place the crabs into the beaten egg and leave them for ten minutes to absorb the egg.
5
Mix the type 00 flour and fine polenta flour together on a broad plate.
6
Heat the sunflower oil in a deep frying pan until it reaches 175 degrees C.
7
Lift the crabs from the egg and dredge them lightly in the flour mixture to coat evenly.
8
Lower the crabs gently into the hot oil in two small batches.
9
Fry for three to four minutes until the coating turns deep golden and crisp.
10
Lift out with a spider skimmer and drain immediately on kitchen paper.
11
Scatter with fine sea salt while piping hot and serve straight away with lemon wedges.

Chef's tips

Frying in small batches is vital so the oil temperature does not drop. Handle the crabs gently as their paper-thin soft shells tear easily before cooking.

Ingredient substitutions

fine white polenta flour → an equal quantity of extra type 00 flour or fine semolina
sunflower oil → peanut oil or mild olive oil suitable for high-heat frying

Storage

Moeche must be eaten immediately after frying and are not suitable for storing.

Reheating

Reheating is not recommended as the delicate shell will become tough and rubbery.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Overcrowding the pan, which lowers the oil temperature and produces greasy, soggy crabs.
•Flouring the crabs too far in advance, making the crust gummy rather than crisp.